Sadao Nakagawa, a former Japanese military pilot who claims to have shot down many enemy planes in the war, lives in destitution in the Republic of Kalmykiya in southern Russia without a Japanese veterans' pension.
Nakagawa, 82, is fighting an uphill battle to get official recognition that he is Japanese and eligible to receive a pension.
Nakagawa's only income is the 800 rubles (about 3,200 yen) he receives every month as a pension from the Russian government.
"He is the poorest of all in our poor village," a neighbor said.